Hoffman Estates parks win Gold Medal Award

Creative partnerships with groups like the Chicago Wolves help earned the Hoffman Estates Park District's first Gold Medal Award.

Park district officials were on hand in Salt Lake City Wednesday to receive the prize at the National Recreation and Park Association meeting.

Hoffman Estates bested They bested the Arlington Heights and Glenview park district as well as Temple Parks and Leisure Services of Texas in the 50,000-to-100,000 population category.

The award recognizes overall excellence for programs and facilities. This is the third straight year Hoffman Estates was a national finalist, but first time it's coming home with hardware.

"The Gold Medal is not just about parks, pools and playgrounds. It's about people, our staff, along with many volunteers. (They) are the reason the Hoffman Estates Park District is No. 1 in the U.S.A.," board member Craig Bernacki said.

The deal with the Wolves minor-league hockey team is unique and shows how creatively the district staff works, Executive Director Dean Bostrom said. The Wolves are subleasing two billboards off I-90, which were donated to the park district. The money from the billboards helped the park district build the Community Center and Ice Arena.

"We have plans in place when development comes in, and we'll get additional feedback," Bostrom said. "There's always opportunities as we build up trust in the community."

Board President Lili McGovern said the award represents a turnaround for the park district, which in the mid-90s suffered from internal bickering. Board Commissioner Scott Triphahn also reflected on the how the climate has changed for the park district.

"We're in the fun business, we're supposed to be make it fun for people, not have wars," he said.

McGovern added that there's a friendly rivalry between Arlington Heights and other neighboring districts.

"If you have a question or a problem, the first person you talk to is someone from another park district," she said.

The village application included video footage which showed off the park district's resources taken more than two years ago shot from a helicopter.

Arlington Heights won the award in 2001, 1992 and 1983, while Schaumburg won in 1988 and 2004.

The Bartlett and Buffalo Grove districts were also national finalists this year for the 20,000-to-50,000 population category, which was won by the Lombard Park District. The Itasca Park District won in the 25,000-and-under category.